The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has authorized telecom companies to disconnect the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes of nine banks due to unpaid debts.
This announcement was made in a public notice issued on Tuesday and signed by Reuben Muoka, the Director of Public Affairs at the NCC stating banks must settle their obligations by January 27, 2025, or risk losing access to these essential codes, which facilitate mobile banking services.
As of January 14, 2025, nine out of 18 financial institutions had not complied with payment directives, with total debts exceeding N200 billion.
The affected financial institutions include Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Polaris Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.
The affected USSD codes include 770, 919, and 822, among others.
The NCC warns that service disruptions may occur if issues remain unresolved
